SARDIS- FAITHFUL WHEN FEW  Rev. 3:1-8  Dr. J. Ben Sloan 7/29/07

Sardis used to be a wonderful, extremely wealthy city.  It was the capital of Lydia, and maybe you remember the saying “As Rich as Croesus”?  The Lydians fell to the Persian empire partly because they were very soft.  The Persians did some things so the Lydians would never fight again- they took their weapons, but they made Lydia a place where music and acting were king as well as retail trading.  This insured that the great empire would never rise again- and it didn’t.  It remained wealthy, soft, and faded into oblivion. We might learn a lesson from Sardis, the capital of one of the wealthiest empires the world has ever known.

            A certain minister had a reputation for being eccentric.  One Sunday morning, he told the congregation that he believed his church was dead.  You can imagine the murmurings from the pews when he said, “Come back tonight, I’m going to preach the funeral service of the church.”  The members were shocked; the attendance for the evening service was larger than it had been in years. 

            In the front pews was a casket and as the people sat in stunned silence, the pastor delivered the message.  After the last amen, the pastor said, “Some of you may not agree with me that this church is dead.  So that you may be convinced, I am going to ask you to view the remains I want you to file by the casket, one by one and see who is dead.”

            In preparation for this unorthodox presentation, the minister had placed a mirror in the bottom of the casket.  It is obvious who everyone saw when he came to view the deceased.  [Escape the Coming Night p. 50]

            In ancient Rome, soldiers before battle, and gladiators before their fights would say, “Hail Caesar, we who are about to die salute you!”  I sometimes think that some people have this idea when they come to church- “Hail Jesus!  We who are about to go to sleep salute you!”  This passage is about staying awake spiritually.  Boredom in church sometimes (if there is no physical cause) is frankly a sign of spiritual sleep.
            There was a deacon in my father's church Walhalla Presbyterian in Walhalla, South Carolina.  In the 50's he would get up early open the church, turn the boiler on in the winter and open the windows and turn the fans on in the summer.  One fall day, he didn't open the windows- but he did fall asleep in church.  The minister was preaching on this passage.  The minister said, "Awake!  Awake to God!  Open the windows of your soul!"  About that time, the deacon woke up- hearing him say, "Open the windows to your soul."  He immediately got up, and started opening all the windows! 

            Our passage says that the church has a reputation of being alive and being awake, but in fact it was in a deathly sleep.  It was the church in a coma.  Most of the people in that church just didn’t do anything for the Lord.  There were opportunities, no doubt.  There were opportunities to give- and they chose to add on to their house, or buy a bigger boat instead.  There were doubtless opportunities to serve the community.  There were opportunities in the church to serve as well- but people in the church served their own comfort rather than others.  But a church that serves itself is comfortable being the same size, doing the same thing, not ever being challenged.  Many today think that God exists for them instead of what the Bible says that they exist for God.  Their question is constantly what has God (or the church) done for me lately?  The answer is always not enough.

            There are people I know whose main goal in life is to sleep and be comfortable. 

I can remember as a teenager I had a hunger for sleep.  But God did not create us just to sleep and be comfortable.  He gave us life so that we would do something with it.  He gives us breath so that we might make the world a better place with meaning, human love, grace and hope.  Christ tells the people to wake up.  Their problem was not  that they had a heresy tearing them apart, or some persecution- their problem was that their religion had become too convenient.  They wanted their religion to make them feel comfortable- and it had!  But it comforted them to the point that they didn’t do anything for God.  They didn’t challenge themselves or others.  They just wanted to be left alone with their God in a nice comfortable spiritual meditative sleep state.  But their selfish, comfortable religion had put them asleep to God’s power and grace.

            He also tells them to “Watch!”  The people of Sardis were famous for not being watchful.  They had a huge watchtower, but ironically, they didn’t use it well. The Persians snuck up on the city at night and a few of them crawled over the walls and opened the gates, because the watchmen were not careful.  The Lyidans assumed they were impregnable—that no one could conquer them.  A few centuries later the same thing happened again with the Greeks- they snuck into the city at night and opened the gates.  Christ’s words are to wake up and to live watchful lives—being on guard against evil sneaking up on them.  That is good advice to us as well- to guard our hearts against evil coming in by a side door.  Usually, for Christians, that is how evil conquers our souls.  We compromise a little here, a little there, and then when our lives are in a total wreck, we wonder how we let it happen.  It’s because we let our guard down- we weren’t watchful.  We were asleep on the watchman tower.  Guard you actions that they would be full of love and service not selfishness and pride.  Guard your tongue that your words might build up instead of tear down or curse.  Guard even your thoughts! 

            He tells them to remember what they have received and heard.  This is an admonition to get back to the Word of the Lord.  It is good advice.  If we have drifted away seeking comfort, seeking to not be too different from the world, we will fail. If you haven’t read the Bible in awhile, do not be afraid to pick it up and read it.  Maybe you need to be challenged a bit in your study.  That is why we have Sunday Schools and Bible studies.  People may think a little differently from you, but go and share your point of view.  The Bible says, “as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”   Get back to the Word of God, hold it fast, and where you have drifted away- do not be afraid or too proud to repent.

            Then there is this very gracious passage that is meant for those who live in a world full of wrong but have not given in.  It says, “Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes.  They will walk with me dressed in white, for they are worthy” (vs. 4).  Today we had a baptism, and the baptismal gown for Kyia was a white gown.  It is a symbol that one day we will be unblemished, purely following God.  Our souls will be washed away of any stain, and the beauty of a stainless soul will be evident to all.  Daniel says that one day we will be like bright and shining stars.  One commentator [Swete] says that the phrase stands for the profession a person made at baptism.  When adults were baptized in the early church, they were given a clean, white, spotless robe symbolic of the cleansing of their life.  So perhaps this passage is saying- you have kept the faith you started- and you’ll be given another white robe when you come into God’s presence.

            Again, this is a passage for those who are faithful in the church, when the church goes astray.  There is no admonition that says, “When you see that you are no longer in a majority, go out and form another church.”  Rather, we hear the admonition- you have a few—God knows who they are—God will reward those who stay faithful in a situation that doesn’t encourage faithfulness.  Every now and then a person will come up to me and say, “I am not being ‘fed’ at my church, and want to come to yours.  Usually I discourage them because we are fed best when we are feeding others.

If they found something wrong with their current church, they’ll find something wrong with ours.   

            God changes the world with a few faithful people.  Look at Noah and his family- they changed the world.  Look at Abraham.  When God called him, he was but one person.  Look at Moses—there was a time when he and Joshua were the only ones who didn’t do the Golden Calf dance.  Elijah preserved the people.  Or take twelve disciples- just a few faithful people- and not all that perfect at that.  In history a few faithful missionaries who had a love and zeal for God made a tremendous difference—like Patrick of Ireland, Augustine of Canterbury.  The Moffatts and Underwood families came to Korea when there were no Christians.  With their faithful witness Korea is now about 50% Christian- mostly Presbyterians.  I would contend that God works best with those who are faithful yet few.  These are like God’s special forces—they may not be an army, but they refuse to surrender.  Determine in your heart today not to surrender, not to give up, not to give in.  This week the movie “300” comes out on DVD about the battle of Thermopylae [I don't fully endorse this movie- but I endorse the them behind the historical occurence].  This was a battle in which 300 Spartans held at bay an army of 1 million Persians for three days, giving time for the main army and navy to form.   Making a difference is not a matter of numbers, but a matter of heart.